Our family's favorite way to vacation is by cruise. There is something for everyone. We have 5 children ages 9 - 16. Since we live in the New Orleans area, most of our cruises have been out of New Orleans. We have sailed NCL, RCCL, Carnival, and Princess. This is our 3rd cruise on the Spirit and we found it to be just as enjoyable as the last two cruises. We like this ship for many reasons: not too big and therefore, the lines to get back onto the ship after being in port are always short, free-style dining, stops 4 times on a 7 day cruise, easy ship layout, has always been clean and the staff helpful, never feels too crowded, always have had easy embarkation and disembarkation in New Orleans. For this cruise, we were on deck 8, forward, with three cabins, 8508, 8511,8513 for 8 people (my son brought a friend).

ACTIVITIES and ENTERTAINMENT: For the most part, the entertainment was about the same (but a bit better in quality and skill) as all the past cruises we have taken except for the show, "Elements". This was excellent, the best show we have seen on a cruise ship and they even received a standing ovation. I have never seen a standing ovation for a cruise show. The show was a combination of their 3 main performing groups that all performed solo on the first few nights of the cruise: their dance production group, ballerina/acrobat married couple from France and Russia, and illusionist/magician married couple team. Do not miss this show! Also, the Second City Comedy group was also on board and did a main show, a workshop, and two smaller shows in the Galaxy of the Stars. We always enjoy this. Overall, we found the activities and entertainment to be above average compared to other cruises.

SERVICE My husband and I have been cruising for 15 years and overall, on all ships, we have found that the service has declined across the board. The service on this cruise was avg. I do believe that the staff is working their hardest. I also believe that there has probably been lots of cut backs so there isn't as much staff and therefore the service suffers. It was very obvious though that the staff on this ship is trained well and are working hard. You can sometimes see them scrambling to serve you. I have a lot of respect for those that work on board a ship. We have talked to the staff on different occasions and most are away from family, working long hours for low pay, and yet they continue to serve with a smile on their face. If you get a chance, try to get to know some of them. All that we have talked to have wonderful stories to share. They will response well to your interest in them. About this specific cruise, the service was very good. I had a tapping noise in my wall that would not go away (from the movement of the ship). I called and they sent someone to listen. It continued, I called again, and by the next day, they had offered to give us a new cabin, that just so happened to be right across the hall (with a window). We took it! Also, after exiting the ship, my daughter realized that she forgot her pillow and started crying. There were many staff members in the luggage claim area. They called the ship and we had her pillow within 15 minutes. Read more